Technology, Tenant Experience
The Role of Technology in the Re-entry Process By: Dusty Muck, Rubbermaid Commercial Products “Georgia is open for business”. This was Governor Brian Kemp’s message to all Georgians in a press conference held on April 6 where he lifted the last of the state’s Covid restrictions on businesses and individuals. Over the last year, we have had many ZOOM meetings, sitting in our sweatpants, educating our children at home, while listening to discussions of what our new normal would look like and how Georgians could re-enter their workplaces safely. We heard about Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, touch-free technology, hand hygiene, and we learned about new products like electrostatic sprayers. But in an industry where technology plays an increasingly greater role every year, one must wonder, what role will technology play in making our return to work safer? And, of course, the question on everyone’s mind, when will our tenants return to the office? “We want people to come back in, and Portman has done a tremendous amount of great work to ensure the building is safe,” Michael Knox, chief engineer at CODA said. “We have no problems getting tenants back into the office safely, the problem is the tenants don’t want to come back into the office. Everyone is still so concerned especially with the new variant out now, no one is sure how that is going to affect the vaccine programs out there. Are the vaccines even going to be effective against the new variants? So, everyone is on a ‘wait-and-see’ because of that.” Tom Melton, chief engineer with Madison Marquette, agrees with the importance the vaccine will play.
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Insight • Issue 2, 2021
“I think they (tenants) are not going to be comfortable coming back until everyone is vaccinated,” Melton said. The commercial real estate Industry has been busier than ever, during the lockdown period, ensuring the safety of everyone’s return.
“We are actively seeking and addressing amenities within the building around the building. What can we do to increase safety and make the work environment worth coming back for.” “For instance, we are upgrading facilities, making it newer, fresher, brighter,” Leigh McGibboney, senior property manager with Cushman & Wakefield, said. “We are upgrading elevators, we are updating lobby areas, we are creating safe workplaces. Being in the banking industry, it used to be all suits and ties, now it has become more casual. It is really going to flex workspaces. We are even turning a plaza to an outside, comfortable area to eat lunch, while enjoying the fresh air. We are even going to pipe in music. It will make the space look good and encourage people to come back in to work. That is some of the other areas we are looking at.” McGibboney continued, “We have put in sanitation stations. We put on all the floors a paper towel dispenser and a spray they can take to their desk and spray their own work areas. We have totally increased hand sanitizers on all the floors. Near the restrooms, breakrooms, elevators. We feel like hand sanitizers are a good thing and will remain here for quite a while.”
